Of Matters of Faith By Emily M.

Of Matters of Faith 

By Emily M.

I have been for the longest time the biggest coward when it comes to motor bike rides. I could not stand the thought of being on one. It is scary. Here in Kenya they even have a name 'death traps' a whole hospital ward is dedicated to victims of motorbike accidents. Recently God put me in a position where I had no choice but to trust that He knows what he is doing. I recently read a book from rick warren The purpose driven life and in it he was talking about how God continuously tests our character.. He suggested that all of life is actually a test. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment and even a motorbike ride. Did I mention that I had no choice in the matter? Well, for three days I have been on one. Going through bad weather - rain and mists and cold, through rough roads- sometimes we even had to walk, long distances to inaccessible places and all this time I imagine God is watching my reaction and enthusiasm to what I am doing. The real question is do I trust him enough to know he will take me through it all and take me out a better person? I have reached a point and understood that life is a test therefore there is nothing insignificant in my life. Everything that happens, happens for good for those who love God. It has taken my life to a whole new dimension. I am in the arms of someone who loves me....despite the close shaves with the reality of hitting a bush or sliding to the ground. In fact, at one point we actually run out of fuel and guess what God was faithful. I have come to realize that every day is an important day and every second a growth opportunity to deepen my character, to demonstrate love or to depend on God. I want who I am, what he has given me to praise him and glorify His holy name.

Well at this point God has indeed kept his promise, and has not allowed me to be tested beyond what I can handle. He has given me the strength to endure that motorbike for three days even if I am extremely tired at the end of it all and provided me with a way to enjoy the whole experience.

Living Today - By Samantha W.

Living Today

By Samantha W.

The year I graduated from high school held a note of melancholy. Everything I’d known was about to change. New choices and responsibilities closed in around me, and I felt overwhelmed by it all.

The day was on a Saturday when I decided to go through the bottom drawer of my dresser. It held all the little trinkets and mementos I’d kept over the years. Memories came to the surface as I pulled out each item. A smile touched my lips, though an underlying sadness lay hidden in the corners of my heart. That’s when my hand found my old friend.

“Hello, B, it’s been a long time.” I sat back on my heels, cradling the clear, airtight bag in my arms. Inside was the soft, green blanket, which shared many moments with me.

A pang of deep longing brought tears to my eyes, thinking of the security B had always given. May I tell you a secret? I wished I could be a little girl again. Back then, troubles were nothing more urgent than having to eat the green beans on my dinner plate. I never had to face those ever-pressing worries of an adult world, like jobs, finances, and responsibilities.

I know God’s Word says I shouldn’t worry, but it’s not easy to have the faith of a child. If something went wrong, I could go to Mama. Crawling up on her lap always made me feel better. Even though I’m still her “Baby,” I think she’d draw the line if I did it now. I have grown a bit over the years, after all. It wouldn’t be as comfortable for either of us. However, I miss letting Mama handle things. Having someone to be there for me always—to help make decisions, to take charge when something goes wrong— is one of the best reassurances.

Okay, yes, I’m aware God’s Word says He will never leave me or forsake me. When I am busy, I have a tendency to forget this promise. Time gets away with me.

My mom used to say, “Don’t try to grow up too fast. Enjoy being a kid while you can. It goes by quick.”

I took her words to heart and found out she was right. Kids grow up like weeds, and I was no exception. I went kicking and screaming into adulthood. (They were silent screams and kicks, but heartfelt nonetheless.)

I knew it could never be what it was. And maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, for being a kid again would mean going backward in my relationships with God, my family, and friends. My experiences, some pleasant, some not so pleasant have shaped me into the person I am; taught me how to stand and grow.  I have become wiser, stronger, and more seasoned over time. Did I really want to lose this maturity?

No, I didn’t want to go back. I sighed and placed the blanket back in the drawer. Thinking in this light made me wish I were even more mature to face my present position. Impatient with situations, circumstances, and yes, even myself, I thought somewhere in the future everything would be hunky-dory. I wanted the results without doing the work.

Yet maybe it’s the steps along the journey of life, which make the trip memorable, God seemed to say.

I broke down and cried.

Life is a most precious gift God has given me. I didn’t want to waste it by wishing things are different. If I try to live in the past of yesterday or pine for the tomorrow, I miss the wonderful moment of today. Instead of wishing things were different, maybe I should make the most out of every opportunity.

I could gripe over things, which haven’t gone my way, or I could thank God for all His blessings. It’s easy to beat myself up for my many blunders. What would happen if I just learned from those mistakes? I believe it’s how I should live. As the Apostle Paul learned to be content whatever the circumstance, it was about time for me to learn contentment too.

Oceans, By Julianna O.

Oceans 

By Julianna O.

Most of you know the song “Oceans” by Hillsong United, right? If not, go listen to it on Youtube. Anyways, I wanted to talk about it because that song is one of my favorites, and it’s also one song where the Holy Spirit reached out to me.

“You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail.” This is one of the beginning lines of “Oceans.” This means, to me, that the Lord is calling you out of your comfort zone and into the world, to spread the good news about Jesus and what He did for you and me.

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me.” That part of the song is from the bridge, and it’s a wonderful line of “Oceans,” because it basically is saying that the Holy Spirit will be with you wherever the Lord leads you.

Next time when you listen to “Oceans” by Hillsong United, just remember what I said, which is that the Lord wants you to spread the good news of Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit will be with you no matter where the Lord leads you. This is why one of my favorite songs is “Oceans.”

Life Song, By Meggie K.

Life Song

By Meggie K.

One Sunday, during worship time in church, I looked around the room and saw a little girl on the the other side of the room. She was maybe 7 years old and was standing next to her mom on her chair so she could see the song lyrics on the screen. But what was so special about this girl? 30% of our church is kids ages 10 and under so what was different about her? The answer: she was mimicking her mom and some other people in the church and had her hand in the air as she sang. I continued to watch her out of the corner of my eye as the beginning of the next song came on. Her face lit up and I saw her get all excited when the song was 10,000 reasons by Matt Redman. 

I could tell, even from where I was standing, that she was belting it out with all her heart and with her hand still raised. In that moment she reminded me of myself when I was her age. I always stood on the outside of the pew (next to the aisle between the 2 rows) so I could see. We went to a different church then, but I’ve always loved worship time at church and the songs they played were some of my favorites at the time. During worship I would close my eyes when I knew the words and raised my hand sometimes. I was so passionate about singing praises to the Lord and I sang so loud, that when I came in early on one of my favorite songs once, everybody heard me! 

Seeing that little girl also made me think. I thought: God touched my heart through song back then and still now. Is he speaking to her through singing too or some way else? I realized that God shows his love to each of us in different ways. Through songs of praise, the Bible, VBS, a church sermon, a pastor; he can even show his love to people through you. You can be a light in the dark and shine for Jesus.

Collide, By McKayla R.

Collide

By McKayla R.

When I pulled out of my church parking lot on Saturday afternoon, I didn’t expect for my life to be impacted in the manner it did.

My church’s youth group partners with a ministry called Cross Culture Ministries. The organization’s purpose it for students to experience the missionary lifestyle while developing their spiritual gifts. Normally the church goes to CCM’s camp in West Virginia, but this year they allowed a few select students to travel three hours and represent KMBC on a lot more local trip.

Six girls and three chaperones were to meet up with two other churches from West Virginia (First Baptist Fairlea and Ronceverte Baptist) where we were to work with the Boys and Girls club and do a make shift Vacation Bible School for the club’s members.

That Saturday night after all three churches were united, we ordered pizza and really hung out with our respected groups. None of us really knew each other nor were we excited to fellowship together. The next morning at breakfast it felt like there were invisible boundaries separating the churches. We just didn’t socialize very well.

After a long ordeal with one of our vans breaking down, we attended Sunday morning service at the church we were staying at, and it was a total God- thing. The people there were so thoughtful and caring; one lady washed our Collide Ministries shirts every night so we would have them for the next day and other families would drop off snacks and pizzas.

That night was our training session. All 25 students were split into two different teams; a recreational team and a leadership team. The people on the leadership team were split into five other teams. One team for each age group. A guy from West Virginia, a girl from my church, and I were in charge of the 6-7 year olds, which was right up my alley. Children about that age have always been my favorite to deal with. After learning what our lesson was going to be the next day, we all went our separate ways to relax before the busy week.

One of the first lessons I learned was that 6-7 year olds don’t. shut. up. It was VERY difficult to get a hold of their fast moving minds. It was a constant stream of “Stop hitting me!” and “I’m hot!” The B&G leader for the group finally yelled “Blow a bubble!” and it felt like the rapture had happened it was so quiet.

It continued like that for pretty much the rest of the week, but as our time together grew, I began to learn the kids on a personal level.

Tef is a kid who looks strangely like a mix between Bob Marley and acts like Katie from Horton Hears a Who. He has dread locks to his waist. We did a lesson on our third day about the blood of Jesus, and I promise he knew more about the Bible than I do.

Antonio is a boy who has a heart of gold. He was always encouraging his classmates and helping them. Anytime we told the group to be quiet, he was the leader who paved the way for the others. If anyone is “The real MVP”, it is him.

Kristian is… Kristian. On our first day she called a girl ugly and then later proceeded to beat the same girl with a flag. If any of our 24 children were to have a warning sign, it would be her.

If I were to write you something on all the children it would take days for me to tell you everything about them. How ecstatic they were when we handed out Bibles (one boy took his and went in a corner and started reading Genesis 1 and continued till we had to leave). How they had to remove one of the boy’s arms from my waist when the Collide members walked out for the final time. How when they gave an alter call for the children who wanted to get saved and every kid but around ten prayed the prayer of salvation.

Look at me, crying at the memories.

This trip has shown me not only how present God’s hand is, but also how much the devil likes to destroy everything God has done. There was a guy from one of the other churches and we were talking and at one point he started telling me that he had imagined us doing certain things together and if I wanted to be “satisfied” all I had to do was talk to him.

We all knew what he was getting at. I knew what he was getting at. Thankfully I removed myself from that conversation ASAP before it went any further.

This week was just so amazing. Throughout the week I have stretched myself spiritually in a way I didn’t think was possible and I’m so excited for what else God has in store for me!

If you would like to hear more about Cross Culture Ministries you can visit their website at http://crosscultureministries.org.

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach

By Haley B.

Last summer, I got to spend two amazing weeks at Daytona Beach through a high school/college ministry called Campus Crusade for Christ, or CRU for short. It’s mainly for colleges all across the world. Campus Crusade for Christ is all about reaching people for Jesus and sharing God’s love and what He wants for us to everyone. A summer mission trip that they have termed “summer project” helps students do this. Not only do you get to share your faith with others who may or may not believe the same thing you do but you also grow as a person and meet friends for life.

Just finishing up my freshman year in college, I felt overwhelmed. I had been avoiding my Christian friends the last semester, because I didn’t want anyone to know about what my mom had gone through; the situation didn’t even affect my grades like I figured it would most people. I had persevered through it, so why should anyone have to know? Well, after a long week, I went to my third meeting that semester that CRU had. They have them all semester long, and my friends had been really worried about why I had stopped coming. During my first semester at college, I went to almost every single meeting. That night, they spoke about summer project. I had heard about it from people going before and thought it was great but it was too expensive and wasn’t for me. I knew about support raising but I doubted that anyone could and would give me money to go on a summer trip, mission trip or not. It was the first time I had a deep doubt towards God and whether or not He was really a promise maker as well as a promise keeper.

I applied to the shortest summer project they had, Daytona Beach Session 1. There were two sessions, each being two weeks long. I just decided to do session 1 because I was taking an online summer class and didn’t want it to take up all of my free time. That is, IF I got accepted to go on the project and IF I could raise the money in time. Again, I was doubting God and testing Him against His word.

I told people that I applied to this project and they were so happy. I had never gotten so much support from friends closest to me. I didn’t tell any of my family I had applied; what if I didn’t get in? Then I would look like a failure. Needless to say, I got accepted and the minute I did, I told my grandma, who would ultimately be my financial “coach” during this and making sure we got all the support money raised. She wasn’t very happy when I told her about getting accepted. She said it was too much money, especially right after my mom got out of the hospital. We couldn’t afford for me to go on a trip that was almost $1,200. Maybe next year, is what she said to me. I kept praying and hoping that there would be a way for me to go; God was calling me so why couldn’t she just listen, just as I was doing? I began to talk with some of the staff on CRU about how to write support letters to friends and family, asking for prayer and a monetary donation towards my project. All of the money raised is tax-deductible; who wouldn’t want to support this cause when you’re going to get it right back?

As the money began to POUR in, my grandma finally started listening. My family, mainly her siblings, believed in me and cared about making sure others heard the gospel, even if it was through someone else. I got all of the support I needed and more. I raised $500 more than I needed. God is definitely a promise maker and a promise keeper when He has called us to do something. It might not be easy but it will be worth it!

I used the $500 to eat with; we only had about 5-6 dinners covered in the two week period. Our hotel had a breakfast so we just needed money for lunch and some dinners.

My grandma paid for my flight because neither my mom nor my grandma wanted me driving down to Daytona by myself. It was my first time ever flying and even then, I still doubted God. How could I fly by myself with no one that I knew with me and for the first time ever? I doubted that God could keep me safe and that I could really do this alone. I had only ever been in the airport in Greenville, SC which only has a few gates from what I know. I flew out of Hartsville-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, GA and it was ginormous. Some things got mixed up when I got my gate pass and the woman had told my mom she could walk back to the gate with me. Well, the woman at security told my mom she had to have a boarding pass in order to get past. If we were to turn around, I might not have made my flight. My mom left me there, in tears, as her little baby had to go through security. In line, I met a woman who was headed towards Orlando, FL. God sent this woman because she helped me through security as well as with the tram that takes you to the terminals.

I followed the signs to my gate and made it. We boarded the plane shortly after and I was in the middle seat between a teenage boy who was headed to party for the summer at a beach house and a woman who had a beach house at a nearby beach. God sent this woman as well to me. He knew I was frightened yet He took care of me the whole time. This woman kept telling me about how we were going to do this and that and how it was just a little turbulence. She calmed me down and I was grateful to her.

I got to Daytona met my team that I would be staying with for the next two weeks. I immediately fell in love with my roommates. We immediately started evangelizing the next day. After church, we got briefed on what we were going to do that night as our first chance to tell someone about Jesus. We were all scared to death as we pulled into the place that we clearly did not want to be: Volusia County Detention Center. This was probably the best witnessing opportunity of my life. It gave me an inside look at how other people live and just like Jesus gave hope for you and me, He gives them the same opportunity to accept that hope.

One of the opportunities to show kindness that stood out happened with a guy we had met during our other evangelizing event. We went to a woman's home and met a Russian guy whose mom was there, hiding from the abusive dad. He walked nearly 10-15 miles to the beach to lifeguard every day. We all chipped in during project and gave our own spending money to buy him a bike! One of the girls who stayed saw him riding it the next week to the beach.

My team and I got a million chances to share the love of Christ with others that might have never heard of Him before and might never hear of Him again. But it’s not just about going on mission trips to witness. As we’ve all heard in our lives (and maybe some of you have never heard this), the mission field is here. It’s everywhere. There are people in your own backyard that don’t know Jesus! We all know at least one person that could meet Jesus because of us, but we choose not to share the good news because of judgment or rejection. I promise you that even if you share and you get judged for it, or the person you talk to states that they’re simply not interested, don’t give up! Jesus has called us to be a part of The Great Commission! Because of your determination to not give up on that one person, they might meet Jesus one day! You never know what might happen after your conversation with them! Jesus has called us to be disciples, and make disciples in all the nations. He also tells us to not worry about a seed that was planted that does not grow in front of us. You will reap what you sow, and because you sowed that one seed, it doesn’t mean God will give it back to us the same way we planted it. Just like in tithing to the church. Giving 10% of my money to God does not mean I will get it back in money; it just means that God will bless me with something, in HIS time.

The mission field is in your backyard, your front yard, and right beside you. It’s at the local restaurant you go to, your school, and at the community pool. You never know when you might get the opportunity to lead someone to Jesus, who gives us a hope and peace that is incomparable to what this world offers.